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Hamas clearly started this recent round of violence, and the organization must be destroyed. I don't question that at all.

But when was the last time a campaign targeting civilians (or causing severe collateral damage) prompted those being attacked to change their attitudes? The strategic bombing campaigns in the Second World War harmed German and Japanese war-making capacities, but they didn't weaken the resolve of German or Japanese civilians. If anything, their resolve was strengthened.

One can say the same about the British Empire's use of concentration camps during the Second Anglo-Boer War or Imperial Germany's practice of executing hostages in retaliation for sabotage during the First World War. For that matter, US actions in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq may have done a better job of targeting actual militants, but the level of collateral damage was enough to continually alienate the people we were (in theory) trying to help.

Please understand - I'm not alleging that the people of Gaza are somehow "owed" anything from the Israeli government, and again, I agree that the violence is fully on Hamas. But I worry some of Israel's actions might backfire.